"The 'History of Art' is a vast mosaic that spans from prehistory to the early years of our century.

The absolute innovation of this project by Eli Four, which began in 1909, was completed in 1927, and has been revised several times, was that it introduced a new genre that is now considered essential and is particularly popular: the art book, where every commentary can be compared with the works themselves.

Here, the confrontation and juxtaposition of the images justify the boldness of the approach, which is often unprecedented. A completely new endeavor for the time, which no one, except for Marlow, has reached or surpassed to this day.

(...) [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]